Promising Tomorrows
by mags1587
Summary: The days and months after the Avengers movie. Loosely-connected scenes centered around Tony and Pepper. Betty Ross, Jane Foster, and Maria Hill also appear; other Avengers will show up eventually.
1. Betty Arrives

_Disclaimer: The Avengers do not belong to me._

* * *

Pepper picked up her briefcase and then went to the kitchen for one last refill of coffee and to say goodbye to Tony. He was sitting at the island, and she stopped when she saw his expression. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Bruce is packing up to leave," he said.

Tony had been doing everything possible to convince Bruce to stay in New York permanently. After meeting the man, Pepper had immediately agreed with Tony (though she was a little surprised about how quickly Tony had warmed to Bruce) and tried to help persuade Bruce to stay. Obviously, neither of them had any luck. "I'm sorry, Tony, but if he's determined to leave-"

"I know we can't force him to stay, it's just- he's being an idiot," Tony said. "He's not leaving because he wants to leave, he's leaving because he thinks he has to leave. He-"

Pepper interrupted Tony before he could get going; she unfortunately didn't have time to listen to Tony's entire rant on how Bruce was cutting himself off from the world. "Tony, I know, and I agree, I think it'd do Bruce good to stay here. But like you said, we can't force him. All we can do is keep the offer of a place to stay open and hope he changes his mind."

"He refused to take the plane," Tony grumbled. "He won't even tell me where he's going. Hell, he won't even take a phone or a few hundred bucks."

She went over and kissed Tony. "He'll be fine," she said. "Now, I have to go. Number of press requests today as compared to yesterday?" They had started a bet on how many requests Tony would receive each day. The response so far to the battle had been insane - even worse than after Tony proclaimed to the world that he was Iron Man.

"Lower," he said.

Pepper smirked. "I say higher. I am going to enjoy my foot massage tonight." She started walking to the elevator - Tony got to his feet and followed her.

"How can it be higher? Hasn't every press outlet in the world already contacted us?"

"Possibly, but I have no doubt most of them will keep contacting us until they get a response they like."

"Wait a minute, we never said we were counting duplicates."

"We said number of requests," Pepper said. "That includes duplicates."

"I want to change my bet," Tony said.

She stopped at the elevator and turned, smiling at him. "All right. It'll cost you a foot massage."

Tony tried and failed to hide his amusement. "I'm the one who was tossed around in a metal suit a few days ago. I need my shoulder massage more than you need your foot massage."

"Good thing this is a bet, then, and not who needs it more," Pepper said. She knew he really didn't mind giving her a foot massage, and she'd probably end up giving him a shoulder massage too. She kissed him again. "I have to go. Enjoy your day in the lab. It might be the last quiet day I can swing for you for quite a while."

* * *

Later, mid-afternoon, she got a text from Tony.

_"We're going to have a guest for dinner."_

She blinked, then typed out a reply.

_"Who? Did Bruce change his mind and come back?"_

_"Not Bruce. His girlfriend. (Former girlfriend?) Dr. Betty Ross. Showed up here looking for Bruce. She's pretty upset."_

Showing up at Stark Tower, looking for a man she obviously still cared about, only to be told that he had left a couple of hours earlier? Pepper could certainly understand why Dr. Ross was upset. Her heart went out to the woman. Before she could respond, Tony sent another text.

_"She came from California, been traveling since she heard about the attack. She's exhausted. Going to try and talk her into staying the night."  
"Unless you object?"_

Pepper smiled. Tony was still getting used to treating the tower as their home rather than his. _"Of course not, she should absolutely stay. Is there anything she needs?"_

_"Everything. She didn't bother to pack before she left. Picked up a few basics while she was delayed in New Jersey but that's it."_

She hadn't even bothered to pack. Pepper's heart went out to Dr. Ross again; she obviously cared quite a lot about Bruce. _"Find out her sizes and text me back; I'll pick up some things on the way home."_

_"Will do."_

_"I'll be home in a couple hours. Be good. Don't leave her alone."_

_"I won't. We're complaining about Bruce. She just stepped out to freshen up."_

She smiled again. Tony could be surprisingly sweet when he wanted to be. _"Love you."_

_"Love you too."_


	2. Jane Arrives

When JARVIS announced that Pepper had arrived back at the tower, Tony told Betty to wait in the living room and then went to meet Pepper at the elevator.

Tony smiled and leaned in for a kiss when the doors opened. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said. She handed him half of the four bags she was carrying. "You owe me a foot massage, and we have got to get you talking to the press."

Tony sighed. "That bad?"

"Yes," Pepper said. "Mike's worried about public opinion turning against the Avengers. It's not a problem yet, but if the only people talking are the ones blaming you guys for saving the world... we have to get out in front of this. I don't know what SHIELD's planning on doing but we can't wait for them."

"Yeah," Tony said. He wasn't thrilled about needing to do the press circuit, but knew Pepper was right. Someone had to start talking to the press, and since everyone else had conveniently taken off... "Book me something for tomorrow afternoon or evening. I'll set up a meeting with Fury tomorrow morning. If I say anything about his secret organization without talking to him first, he might shoot me. You're coming to that meeting, by the way."

"I don't have clearance," Pepper said.

"I'm getting you clearance, because seriously, it's just silly at this point. Fury already knows I tell you everything."

"Right," Pepper said. "We shouldn't leave Dr. Ross waiting. Come on and introduce me to our guest."

Tony led the way back to the living room. Betty stood when they entered. "Betty, Pepper Potts. Pepper, Dr. Betty Ross."

Pepper shook Betty's hand and smiled warmly. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Ross."

"Please, call me Betty, and I'm so sorry for imposing on you-"

"Nonsense," Pepper said. "It's no problem. Has Tony shown you to your room yet?"

"No, and really, if it's any trouble, I can-"

"No trouble at all," Pepper said. "As I'm sure Tony has mentioned, we have five floors filled with nothing but apartment suites for guests to Stark Tower. Come on, we'll go to your room and I'll show you what I picked up for you, make sure it's all right." She took the bags back from Tony.

Betty seemed to finally register the four bags. "Oh, that's far too much-"

"Billionaire, remember?" Tony said. Betty didn't have a response as Pepper started ushering her to the elevator. "You ladies have fun."

While they were gone, Tony put in the call to SHIELD. He had to talk to a couple of low-level agents before he finally got connected to Agent Hill. Fury was apparently unavailable. Tony had to argue with her for a good five minutes about the need for talking to the press so soon. He was convinced that she only gave in because she had to go deal with something else, but as long as he got his meeting with Fury, he didn't care.

Pepper came back without Betty. "She's taking a shower and changing before dinner," Pepper said.

"How's she doing?" Tony asked.

She paused before answering. "How much did she tell you?"

"She's upset she missed Bruce, embarrassed and I think a little angry that she dropped everything to run after him, and worried about what to tell her boyfriend, who she's suddenly realized she doesn't like as much as she thought she did."

She nodded. "That's essentially what she told me. Her reaction to all of this has thrown her for a loop. I told her she should stay a few days, give herself time to work things out."

Tony nodded. "Good idea. She go for it?"

"It'll take a little more convincing, but I think she'll accept," Pepper said.

Tony nodded. "Meeting's all set for tomorrow. Agent Hill wasn't exactly happy about it, though."

"Did you do that thing where you order around people who don't actually work for you?" Pepper asked mildly.

"Actually, it's more that she doesn't understand the need to start talking to the press right now," Tony said. "So be prepared to help me convince them it really is necessary. They'll probably believe it from you more than they will me."

Pepper nodded. "I'm going to call Mike, he'll get you booked somewhere. I'm thinking one of the news shows tomorrow. It'll show you're taking this seriously."

Tony grimaced. She was right, of course, but he really hated some of those pompous windbags. "Just please, no one who is going to turn what happened into another attack on me for shutting down weapons manufacturing."

Pepper smiled. "It'll be someone relatively friendly, I promise. Though you will have to talk to some of those other people eventually."

"As long as it's not tomorrow," Tony said. "I'm going to have to do the whole circuit, aren't I? News, entertainment..."

"Unfortunately, yes," Pepper said. "It seems everyone wants to talk about the aliens that attacked New York and the superheroes who stopped them." She patted his shoulder then went off to make the call.

Betty came back up right as Pepper was finishing. They sat down to dinner and made inconsequential small talk for about 20 minutes before JARVIS interrupted.

"Excuse me, sir," JARVIS said. "Security is reporting that a Dr. Jane Foster is here."

It took Tony a moment to place the name, then he remembered the briefing on Thor's first visit. "Let me guess, she's looking for Thor?"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS said.

Tony looked at Betty and Pepper, who were confused. "Dr. Foster met Thor the first time he was on Earth. According to SHIELD's briefing, there was some romantic interest between them."

"Thor didn't get in touch with her while he was here?" Pepper asked.

"Apparently not," Tony said. "JARVIS, have we confirmed her identity?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay," Tony said, getting up from the table. "I suppose I get to tell her that Thor left the planet."

"Bring her up here," Pepper said, a quick glance at Betty. "We'll help."

"Yes, I can certainly relate to chasing after a man and finding him gone," Betty said, and there was more than a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Right," Tony said. "I'll be back in a minute."

It took more than a minute, because Dr. Foster refused to come upstairs until she had gotten the basics of what had happened. Tony at least talked her into going into the security office so they could talk about somewhat sensitive topics without being overheard. He gave her the most succinct overview he could, and it wasn't long into his story before she got very worried and very pissed off. Worried about Erik Selvig, who was a friend of hers, and pissed off at SHIELD, because she had figured out that they had been the ones behind her move to a small observatory in Norway and she was not happy about being deceived.

"I am going to find them and give them a piece of my mind," she snapped. "How dare they!"

Tony raised his hands placatingly. "Come upstairs with me. I have their phone number; we can give them a call."

"Fine," Dr. Foster said.

The elevator ride was made in silence. When they got to their floor, Betty and Pepper had stood to meet them.

"Dr. Foster, my girlfriend, Pepper Potts, and Dr. Betty Ross," Tony said. Pepper and Betty murmured greetings but upon seeing just how pissed off Dr. Foster was, didn't say anything more. Tony picked up a handset. "JARVIS, phone SHIELD, please." Dr. Foster held out her hand. Tony hesitated before handing it over. "If you'd like, I could-"

"No thank you," she said. "I'll talk to them." She took the handset and Tony moved over to Betty and Pepper.

"SHIELD moved her to some remote location to protect her from Loki," Tony said softly as Dr. Foster started ranting at whoever had answered the phone. "Only, they didn't exactly tell her about it."

"How nice of them," Betty said dryly.

Tony glanced at her, but didn't comment. Dr. Foster's rant moved on to mention Selvig, and Tony explained. "Dr. Selvig's a friend of Dr. Foster's. She's worried about him, too."

"He was one of the ones put under mind control, right?" Betty asked.

"Right," Tony said. "But if SHIELD asks-"

"I know nothing," Betty finished, smiling slightly.

"I will not go anywhere- I want answers now!" Dr. Foster yelled. "And if you can't give me answers then connect me to someone who can!" A pause. "Stark Tower." Another pause. "That's fine, that's great, send someone here! But they had better have the answers I want and they had better be able to get me in touch with Erik!"

She threw the phone across the room, then froze and turned to look at Tony, mortified. "I am so sorry."

"It's okay," Tony said, going across the room to pick up the handset.

"No, it's not okay, I should not have- and I normally wouldn't, it's just-"

"You're upset," Pepper said. "It's all right. We understand."

"Right, and it's not as if I haven't thrown things from time to time," Tony said.

"Or blown things up," Pepper said easily.

"Don't listen to her, I very rarely blow things up," Tony said. Dr. Foster still looked troubled. "I promise you, Dr. Foster, it's fine. Now, when should we expect our guest from SHIELD?"

She blinked. "I invited someone to your home without even asking! I am so sorry! I'll call them back, tell them-"

"You'll do no such thing," Pepper said, stepping forward and taking her arm and leading her into the kitchen. "We were just finishing up dinner. Can I get you a plate? Or something to drink?"

Tony left Dr. Foster - Jane, as she soon insisted - to Pepper and Betty. Between Pepper's hospitality and Betty sharing her story about rushing here to try and catch Bruce, Jane was soon a lot more relaxed.

Which was good, because fifteen minutes after her call, the SHIELD agent arrived. Agent Simmons. Tony disliked him on sight, though he couldn't immediately identify why.

Agent Simmons looked at Tony. "Is there somewhere Ms. Foster and I can speak privately, Stark?"

Tony saw Jane tense at the 'Ms. Foster' part, and he wasn't too fond of the man addressing him so casually, either. Tony would put up with that from certain SHIELD agents who Tony somewhat respected or who Tony knew could kill him in a hundred different ways without breaking a sweat, but this man? Had earned no such leeway. "It's Dr. Foster and Mr. Stark, thank you," Tony said coolly. "And we can talk in the living room, right through here."

Agent Simmons glanced at Betty and Pepper. "Mr. Stark, there is some classified information Ms. Foster and I need to discuss..."

Again with the Ms. Foster? Oh, this was not going to end well.

"As Mr. Stark said, my proper title is Dr. Foster," Jane said icily. "Please use it."

Simmons barely acknowledged her, instead looking at Tony, Betty, and Pepper with what Tony guessed was supposed to be an apologetic look. "I'm sorry," and the man obviously wasn't, "but without the proper clearance-"

Pepper spoke for herself and Betty. "We'll just go upstairs," she said, and they moved towards the elevator.

Tony didn't move, and as he guessed, Simmons tried to make an issue of it. "Mr. Stark, I-"

"I am sure that my clearance level is higher than Dr. Foster's and probably higher than yours," Tony said. He turned to Jane. "Do you mind if I stick around?"

"Of course not," Jane said. Tony shared a glance with Pepper before she and Betty boarded the elevator. When the doors shut, Jane spoke again. "Now, about my questions."

"Of course," Simmons said, gesturing towards the living room. Jane preceded him and Tony followed Simmons. When they were seated, Tony kept silent as Jane tried to get answers out of Simmons. She asked about Thor's arrival. Asked about Dr. Selvig. Asked why she wasn't informed of what was happening. She was doing well at keeping calm - a little cool, but not bad, especially since Simmons was being a condescending ass who kept calling her 'Ms. Foster' and didn't give her any real answers - just double talk about SHIELD doing what they thought was best to insure her safety, that Dr. Selvig was fine and Simmons would arrange for him to contact her soon... Tony would have hit the guy by now. But Tony stayed quiet; based on what he saw earlier Dr. Foster certainly didn't need his help to deal with this idiot.

It was about the time when Jane was asking why she wasn't brought in to help find the tesseract - which was a very good question - when Tony finally figured out what bothered him so much about Simmons. Coulson. Simmons was trying to carry himself with that quiet competence that Coulson had - and he was failing miserably. Instead of competent, Simmons came off as condescending, arrogant, and useless.

"Really, Ms. Foster, you don't need to-"

"For the last time, it is Dr. Foster, not Ms. Foster!" Jane snapped. Okay. She had evidently had enough. "And how dare you decide what I do or do not need!"

"Please, Dr. Foster, calm down," Simmons said.

Tony knew that wasn't going to happen, because the level of condescension had increased tenfold, even with the (obviously sarcastic) use of Jane's proper title.

"Do not tell me what to do," Jane said. "SHIELD has no right to tell me what to do or where to go-"

"SHIELD is interested in keeping you safe and we would appreciate not having our methods questioned. SHIELD will do whatever we deem necessary, and if that includes not informing you or moving you to a safe location with or without your consent-"

"Are you going to get me in touch with Erik?" Jane asked.

"Ms. Foster-"

"Get out," Jane said, standing up.

Simmons blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Get out. I'm done with this conversation. You're obviously not going to answer my questions or get me in touch with Erik so I am wasting my time with you. Leave. Now."

Simmons was actually thrown for a loop by the steely resolve Jane was showing. Tony was enjoying this. "I actually am prepared to escort you to-"

"To see Erik?" Jane interrupted.

"Well, no, you can't-"

"Then no, I will not be going anywhere with you," Jane said.

Simmons sighed, getting to his feet too. "Ms. Foster, I understand you're upset and emotional, but really, you have to see you're overreacting here."

This guy was like a guide of what not to say when faced with a pissed off woman. Tony was surprised he hadn't asked if it was "that time of the month" for Jane. Tony also noted that Simmons must never have met Natasha, because there was no way he could cop this attitude with her and live.

Jane elected to end the conversation by walking out of the room. Simmons made a move to stop her, but Tony got up and blocked him. "Let me escort you out, Agent Simmons," Tony said.

"Stark-"

"I insist," Tony said, grasping his elbow and starting to pull him towards the elevator. Simmons shook him off, but Tony shot him a glare. "You're done here, Simmons. You are leaving this tower, and believe me, I will be happy to use force if necessary."

"Oh? And exactly what do you think Director Fury would say to that?" Simmons asked.

As if that would make Tony back down. "I don't know what he'd say. I do plan on asking him tomorrow, though." Simmons tensed at that. "But we can call him right now if you'd like."

Simmons didn't say a word, just moved towards the elevator. Tony got on with him and made sure he left the building. A word to security that Simmons was not allowed access to Stark Tower anymore, and Tony got in the elevator. "JARVIS, pull the security feed of that video and send it to my phone. I think Fury might be interested in seeing what kind of assholes he has for agents these days."

"Of course, sir."

"Where's Jane?"

"In the kitchen of suite 5A. Ms. Potts and Dr. Ross are with her."

Good, that meant that Tony didn't have to try and calm Jane down or comfort her. They'd be much better at it, anyway. "JARVIS, we need to find out where Dr. Selvig is. Think we can get into their systems remotely? I'd really rather not talk to anyone from SHIELD again tonight if at all possible."

"Actually, sir, Agent Hill is on the line and insisting on talking to you," JARVIS said.

Of course she was. Simmons had probably called and fed her a line of bullshit. He considered blowing her off, but unfortunately, he couldn't risk pissing SHIELD off before the meeting tomorrow. "Patch her through, JARVIS," Tony said, really not looking forward to this.

"Stark?"

"Agent Hill," Tony said.

"Apparently an Agent Simmons is on his way to talk to Dr. Foster-"

"Oh, he just left," Tony said.

"Damn it," Hill said. Tony raised an eyebrow. Not exactly the reaction he was expecting. "All right, how badly did he piss Dr. Foster off?"

Excellent. Hill already knew Simmons was an idiot. "Well, let's see," Tony said. "He didn't answer any of her questions, told her that SHIELD could do whatever the hell they wanted with her whether she liked it or not, wouldn't get her in touch with Dr. Selvig, and kept calling her Ms. Foster despite being corrected several times."

"So... a lot, then."

"Yep," Tony said. "And she was already pissed off that she wasn't informed that Thor was on-planet and that Selvig had been kidnapped. Why wasn't she brought in to help track down the tesseract, by the way? She knows how Selvig thinks. That would have been useful."

"Stark, there were reasons, and really, that's all I have to say about it right now so please don't start," she said tiredly.

"You said please," Tony said. "My god, you must be having a bad day if you're being polite to me."

That got a slightly amused-sounding huff from Agent Hill. "Is Dr. Foster still there?" she asked.

"Yep. Talking with Pepper and Betty right now." They probably didn't know Betty was here yet, but they'd find out sooner or later. Might as well get it out of the way.

"Betty?" she said.

"Dr. Betty Ross," Tony said. "She showed up earlier today looking for Bruce. Then Dr. Foster showed up looking for Thor. By the way, if SHIELD knows of anyone else who might show up on my doorstep, I'd appreciate a heads-up. Because if someone comes here looking for Barton or Romanoff I don't think I'm going to invite them in."

"Probably a good plan," Hill said. "Look, if we think someone will show up looking for one of the Avengers, we'll give you a warning, but we did not know that Dr. Ross or Dr. Foster would go looking for Dr. Banner or Thor, and-"

She sounded truly annoyed, so Tony cut her off. "Agent Hill, that was a joke." Tony generally hated explaining himself, but made an exception because again, he did need SHIELD in a somewhat agreeable mood for tomorrow, and he also wanted to know what was up with Simmons. Neither of which would happen if Agent Hill was pissed off at him.

She was silent for a moment, then moved on. "Do you know what Dr. Foster's plans are?"

"Pretty sure Pepper's talking her into staying here for a few days, at least," Tony said. "Though, she's not going anywhere until she talks to Selvig."

"I'll get him to call her tonight."

"Good," Tony said. He paused, but even though he was pretty sure of the answer, he asked anyway. "I don't suppose Thor left a message for her?"

"No," Agent Hill said.

"Did he even ask about her?" Tony asked, because while Bruce was an idiot, Tony could understand his reasoning. Thor? Tony had no clue.

"I don't know," she said. "Agent Coulson would have been the one to talk to him about her."

Tony went silent for a minute, then pushed away the grief he was still pissed off he felt, and changed the subject. "So. Simmons. What's his deal? And how has he managed to avoid being eviscerated by any female agents yet?"

Hill almost sounded like she was smiling when she answered him. "He doesn't pull that attitude with agents," she said. "He gets some complaints from R&D, but for the most part it's civilians. You can assure Dr. Foster that it'll be discussed with him."

"All right," Tony said. "Give me an email address, Agent Hill, I'll send you some ammunition for that talk."

She paused. "Surveillance video?"

"Yep."

"I take it he didn't realize he was being taped."

"Nope, and that's another strike against him. All of you should know by now that I tape everything - well, almost everything - that goes on in my home."

She gave an email address. "There had better not be anything other than the video attached to that email, Stark."

"Agent Hill, are you implying I would do something nefarious to your computer systems?"

"You just hacked us a few days ago, Stark."

"I had to. You were keeping secrets from me."

"We're a secret organization, Stark, we have to keep secrets."

"And that's exactly what we need to talk about tomorrow," he said, dropping the joking tone.

"I am not having this argument with you right now," Hill warned.

"Okay, we'll postpone it till tomorrow," Tony said. "I can tell Jane that Selvig will be calling?"

"On my way there right after we hang up."

"Thank you, Agent Hill, she'll be happy to hear that."


	3. A Conversation with Fury

The meeting with Director Fury and Agent Hill was going fairly well, Pepper thought. Fury hadn't given more than a token protest to granting Pepper a comparable clearance level to Tony, and while he and Agent Hill weren't exactly grasping the necessity of going to the press right now, they were at least listening to her. They were not listening to Tony, which just made it even more clear to Pepper that SHIELD didn't know Tony Stark as well as they liked to think. Tony had been in the public eye since birth. He knew, from a lifetime of experience, what the media would pay attention to, what they would let go, what they could be distracted on, what was better to get out in the open right away... sure, Tony still did whatever he wanted most of the time, but he at least knew how the media would react. But Fury and Hill weren't listening to Tony. So it was left to her to lay out exactly what would happen if they didn't start managing this story right now.

Tony's phone rang. She stiffened, as did Tony. They had told JARVIS no calls, so it had to be an emergency. Tony quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. "Stark."

"Really?" Agent Hill asked.

Tony ignored her. "Betty, slow down, just- what's wrong? Is everyone okay?" Tony relaxed a bit at Betty's answer, so at least everyone was all right. "Your father," Tony said. "General Ross showed up at the tower?" General Ross. The man who had been hunting Bruce. Pepper had a feeling she knew where this was going. "Betty, calm down, he's not going to get anywhere near Bruce- Yes, actually, if I have to, I will stop him myself." Tony rolled his eyes. "Trust me, my connections trump his. Betty, look, he's gone, right? Good. Tell JARVIS to tell security not to let him back in the building for any reason. Pepper and I will finish up here and we'll talk later, but it'll be fine. I'll take care of it," he said, then ended the call.

Tony looked at everyone. "So. General Ross showed up at the Tower."

"Is Betty all right?" Pepper asked.

"She's fine. Worried about Bruce and really, really pissed off at her father, but fine."

"Ross threatened to go after Dr. Banner?" Hill guessed.

"Yep," Tony said. He looked at Fury. "If you don't do something about this idiot, I will."

"We'll look into it," Fury said. "We're already keeping tabs on the groups that have shown interest in Dr. Banner in the past. And before you ask, no, we are not currently tracking Dr. Banner, yes, we could find him, but I am not using SHIELD resources to track him down just so his ex can talk to him."

Tony's look meant he wanted to press the issue, but Pepper nudged him and gave him a look that said drop it. Betty wasn't sure she wanted Bruce found right now, and even if she did, using SHIELD probably wasn't the way to go about it. Tony, thankfully, let it go.

"I want to know exactly what your plans are with General Ross," Tony said. "And Betty has to be informed too." Fury looked like he was about to refuse, but Tony pressed the subject. "Come on, she's been in the middle of this thing between her father and Bruce from the start. She deserves to know. As an added bonus, it might help get SHIELD back on Betty's and Jane's good side."

Fury looked completely exasperated, and apparently decided to just let Tony win this one. "Fine, Stark. She'll know and you'll know. Can we get back to the topic at hand, now?"

"Sure," Tony said. "How much am I going to tell the press about SHIELD?"

"Why are you so set on talking to the press and keeping this story alive?" Fury asked.

Tony closed his eyes in frustration. Pepper sympathized, and was about to try again, but Tony spoke first. "This story is not going to die. It is not going to go away. Look, you guys are good at cover-ups. You're good at misdirection, diverting people's attention elsewhere and burying the story. Aliens attacked New York City. There is no covering up or burying this story. It's not going to happen. What I- what we need to do is manage the story so it doesn't turn into a story about how the Avengers and SHIELD destroyed New York City. Because if we do nothing, that is going to happen. I promise you that."

"You can't tell the media anything about SHIELD, Barton, or Romanoff," Hill said.

"Well, I can't pretend Barton and Romanoff don't exist," Tony said. "There are photos and videos of them. I can say they're spies and it's classified, that should get me out of having to mention them by name, at least for a while, but I do have to tell them the name of the department they work for. SHIELD does exist, you're under the Department of Homeland Security, you have agents tell people they're from SHIELD... what is the big deal about mentioning SHIELD's name?"

"We're supposed to be under the radar, Stark," Fury said. "If we're not, then suddenly a lot of things will have to change."

Tony sighed and looked at Pepper. "What do you think?"

Pepper thought for a minute. "You can't lie and say they're with a different agency. Someone will find a source somewhere and that'll blow up in our faces. You can try keeping it vague and playing as if you don't know exactly what agency they work for, but..." she shook her head. "I don't think that'll work for long. People will sense a mystery and keep digging."

"If it'll buy us some time let's go with that and we'll try to figure something out," Fury said. "Now, about Captain Rogers."

"Sorry, nope, have to tell the truth about him," Tony said. "Press has already started speculating that he's the same guy from WWII."

"Stark, I know you probably want to make Rogers' life harder, but I don't like the idea of telling the truth and setting a pack of media vultures after him."

"Director, if we tell the truth it'll decrease media interest," Pepper said. "Somewhat. No one's going to believe a denial at this point. If Tony denies the story or doesn't comment, they'll be more determined to track Captain Rogers down and get a statement so they get the scoop. If they already have the truth, well, an interview would be nice but not earth-shattering."

"Though if you want to track him down so he can handle the press instead of me, I wouldn't object," Tony said.

Pepper gave Tony another look. "Tony, you are not leaving Captain Rogers to deal with a media that is vastly different than anything he knows and which he is probably completely unprepared to deal with," she said.

"If things get really bad or you screw it up, Stark, we'll call him in," Fury said.

"Oh, thanks so much for the vote of confidence," Tony said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Fury glared at Tony. Pepper had a feeling this meeting was heading downhill. "Stark, you're getting your way. You're talking to the press. You get to tell the truth about Rogers. But you had better keep SHIELD, Barton, and Romanoff out of the spotlight or I swear-"

"Fury, you have no fucking clue-" Tony snapped, at the end of his rope. Pepper knew there was no stopping Tony from saying his piece, so she settled back and hoped the fallout wouldn't be too bad. "First of all, talking to the press is not me getting my way. I hate the press. I'm doing this because it's necessary and since everyone else left town it's me or no one. I will try to deflect attention from your precious undercover agents, but I honestly don't know if it's going to work, so if the media decides that Hawkeye and Black Widow are their next celebrities, do not blame me for it."

"Who the hell else would I blame, Stark? This is your idea, you're going to be the one talking to the press-"

"Talking to them, yes, controlling them, no," Tony said. "Big difference, there."

"Christ, Stark, I do not need your shit right now," Fury said. "You would not believe the clusterfuck I'm trying to deal with, I have lost my best man-"

Tony slammed a hand on the table. "Do not even think about using Coulson's death to manipulate me again," he snapped. Fury blinked, only barely reacting to Tony's words, but of course Tony caught it and smirked. "Yes, I said again. What, you think I didn't know what you were doing? Hate to break it to you, but you were laying it on a little thick, there. Especially the bit with the cards. Was smearing them with blood really necessary?"

"How did you know about that?" Hill asked, surprised.

Tony looked at Agent Hill, his smirk a little satisfied, now, and Pepper knew that he hadn't known, not for sure, but Agent Hill had just confirmed his suspicions. "Coulson valued those cards. Even if I bought that he would be carrying them around in his jacket pocket, there is no way they'd be unprotected. They'd be wrapped in at least three layers of plastic," Tony said, turning back to Fury, "hence, no blood on the cards themselves."

Tony leaned back, acting like he didn't have a care in the world, while Fury glared at him. Pepper kept still, eyeing Fury and wondering if things were going to get worse. She really could live without seeing Director Fury live up to his name.

Thankfully, Fury just stood up. "Keep SHIELD and my agents out of the press, Stark. If you need anything else, talk to Hill. I have better things to do with my time."

"Always a pleasure, Fury," Tony said. Fury stalked off. When he was gone, Tony spoke again. "Well, that was fun."

Pepper just sighed, and looked at Agent Hill. "Do you need anything else from us?" Agent Hill hesitated, glancing at Tony, and Pepper guessed her question. "Don't worry, he's not going to mention SHIELD, Agent Barton, or Agent Romanoff today."

She guessed right as Agent Hill relaxed. "Then no, we don't need anything else right now," she said. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Your direct phone number," Pepper said, pulling out her cell phone. "I'll call you later so you have mine." Agent Hill looked even more relieved at that and Pepper gave Tony a warning look before he could make a comment.

He waited until they had been escorted out and were back in their car. "You know I'm going to give her a hard time," Tony said, amused.

"And you know I'm going to give her advice on how to handle you or intervene myself," Pepper replied.

"Spoilsport."


	4. A Promotion

A week later, Maria Hill was updating Fury on the ongoing efforts to track down the remaining alien weaponry and gear (which was going fairly well) and the efforts to make the weaponry work (not going so well).

"What else?" he asked.

She paused, because the next update combined two of Fury's least favorite things - Stark and the press - but he had to know. "An update on Stark." Fury scowled, but she pressed on. "I'm going to give Stark the okay to start mentioning SHIELD by name." Now he looked incredulous. She continued, making sure to keep her voice absolutely calm and steady. "He'll continue to protect Barton's and Romanoff's identities, but the press is pushing him for specifics. If he doesn't give them something, then they'll go digging."

"Let them," Fury said. "They won't find anything."

"What if they do?" Maria returned. "At this point, sir, you know as well as I do that we can't guarantee that, and frankly, we have more control if we put out the information through Stark."

Fury stared at her for a moment. "They got to you."

She forced herself not to smile. "Ms. Potts is very convincing, sir."

He sighed. "Just the name?"

"Just the name," she confirmed. "There may be calls to DHS to confirm SHIELD does, actually, operate under them."

"Fine," Fury said. "Anything more than that-"

"I'll let you know, sir."

"How's he doing?" Fury asked. "Do we need to do any damage control yet?"

"No sir," Maria said. "He's actually doing very well." And yes, that surprised her as much as it did Fury. "He's solidified public opinion in the Avenger's favor. Barton and Romanoff have been mentioned, but not by name and only briefly. He warns me he doesn't know if he can keep it that way, but for now, people seem content to focus on Captain Rogers, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk."

"How long do you think we have before he pulls one of his typical stunts and goes off script?"

"I've gotten assurances that won't happen, sir."

"From Stark?"

"From Ms. Potts," Maria said.

"Well. That actually does make me feel better. How goes it with Dr. Foster? She gotten sick of Stark yet?"

Maria wondered how surprised Fury would be by the next pieces of news; it had sure as hell shocked her. "Just the opposite, actually," she said. "Dr. Foster intends to stay in New York and work at Stark Tower on a permanent basis." Fury just stared at her with a blank expression. "Apparently Dr. Foster was very impressed by Stark's labs. She will do some work at an observatory in upstate New York, but for the most part she'll be working out of the tower. I told her SHIELD wouldn't have a problem with it."

"Did you, now?" Fury said.

Maria paused, suddenly uncertain. She had guessed Fury would be surprised, but hadn't thought he'd have any objections. Sure, Stark was one of Fury's least favorite people, but he was mostly trustworthy and reliable, at least in serious situations. What had she missed? "You did tell me to help Dr. Foster set up shop anywhere within reason, to help SHIELD regain her trust," she finally said.

"I did say that," Fury said. He sighed. "Well, offer her SHIELD resources if she needs help finding an apartment."

"That won't be necessary," Maria said. Time to really shock him. "Dr. Foster will have an apartment at Stark Tower."

"Stark invited Dr. Foster to live in his home?"

"It's a very big tower, sir. And I think it might have actually been Ms. Potts," she said. "Dr. Ross will be moving into the tower as well."

Fury just stared at her, as thrown as she'd ever seen him. "You're serious," he said. He looked like he half-expected her to tell him she was pulling his leg.

Maria didn't blame him. She was sure she had looked even more shocked when Pepper had told her the news. Tony Stark, in general, did not like people. He did not make friends quickly or easily, and he certainly didn't invite anyone into his life like this a week after meeting them. Or let anyone else invite them into his life. And yet, that was exactly what had happened. "Yes, sir, I'm serious. Dr. Ross is going to be consulting on a project for Stark Industries and will be continuing her research, possibly at one of the universities in the area. She's actually flying out to California with Stark next week. While he does interviews on the west coast, she'll be packing."

"And Stark is okay with this?"

"Yes," Maria said. Pepper had played dumb when Maria had asked her that very question, just tilting her head and asking why wouldn't Tony be okay with it. Stark had been even worse, keeping his head buried in his phone and offering only a distracted "Yeah, should be fun," to her questions on the subject. Fury seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation, which was a problem because she didn't have one. She shrugged. "Dr. Ross, Dr. Foster, and Ms. Potts seem to have become good friends," she offered. There was more to it, but that was the only piece of the puzzle she had right now.

"That woman can get Stark to do absolutely anything," Fury muttered. Maria didn't doubt that, but she knew there was more to this than Stark giving into his girlfriend. She couldn't tell Fury about her half-baked suspicions, though, so she kept her mouth shut.

She waited to be dismissed, but Fury was just leaning back in his chair, staring at her in that way that she absolutely hated. He was testing her patience, and she failed this test every damned time. He had something to say, but wanted to see how long you could go without asking. Her only consolation was that everyone else failed this test, too. (Except possibly Coulson, but that rumor had never been confirmed, because getting information out of either one of them had always been impossible.)

Maria broke after only five minutes this time, because damn it, she was too busy for this. "Was there something else, sir?"

Fury let himself smirk ever so briefly before putting back on his neutral expression. "Agent Simmons came to see me today."

That wasn't a surprise; Simmons had flat-out told her he was going to talk to Fury after she had reprimanded him for the incident with Dr. Foster, and Maria had warned Fury. "Did you show him the surveillance video, sir?" she asked. The only direction Fury had given her on how to handle the situation was to not mention the video to Simmons. She had asked why, but Fury hadn't given her a reason.

"No," Fury said. She wanted to ask why again, and Fury knew it. This time, he took pity on her. "I'm not telling him there's video because I want to see how far down in this hole he's going to dig himself. Simmons is insisting that we have what happened all wrong. That Dr. Foster was too upset to listen to anyone from SHIELD and that Stark provoked the situation."

"So what did you say to him, sir?" she asked.

"I agreed that Stark's an annoying bastard and said in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I was trusting your call on the situation."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what did he have to say to that?" she asked mildly.

"Nothing you need to shoot him for, so relax," Fury said. "He did make another request that I thought you'd find amusing. He thinks he should be considered for Phil's position."

"You're kidding," she said.

"I take it you don't think he's qualified," Fury said, a slight smirk on his face.

He knew as well as she did that Simmons could not do any part of Phil's job, but she outlined her objections anyway. "If he didn't have a talent for planning and running ops, I would be pushing for you to fire him, sir," she said bluntly. "He looks down on anyone who isn't an agent, especially scientists, and most especially female scientists. Putting him in any position that requires contact with civilians would be a disaster." Though she might actually pay money to see Simmons try his usual routine with Pepper.

"I agree," Fury said. "I told him he didn't have the social skills necessary to deal with civilians and that I've already filled Phil's position."

She frowned, because Fury hadn't mentioned any candidates to her. Of course, he didn't need to consult her, but if he had filled the position, why was she still running herself ragged trying to handle Phil's job on top of hers? "With whom, sir?"

Fury raised an eyebrow, thoroughly amused. "I'm looking at her, Agent Hill."

She stared at him. Oh, god. She had misunderstood him last week. Fury hadn't asked her to take over Phil's job temporarily, he had asked her to take it over permanently.

"We should get to work on finding your replacement, though, because apparently you've been too busy to realize you were promoted," Fury said.

"Sir, this is- I'm not the right choice," she said. She could not do what Phil did. She couldn't do half of what Phil did.

"Okay," he said. "Name me someone more qualified than you."

"Agent Romanoff," she said. Even without his recent- problems with Loki, Barton didn't have quite the right temperament for the job, but Romanoff could absolutely handle it.

"I need her where she is," Fury said. "Anyone else?"

She opened her mouth, but damn it, she couldn't think of another name. She tried another tack. "Sir, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I really don't think I'm the right choice. Take the Avengers, for instance."

"What about them?"

"Phil was the driving push behind the Avengers Initiative. I've been against it from the start."

"Are you still against it? Do you think we could have won last week without them?"

She hesitated, but then shook her head and answered honestly. "No. But I still have reservations and I am not the right choice to manage anything related to the Avengers."

"You are the right choice," Fury said. "And you should have reservations. The Avengers are a group of very powerful and not very controllable people who will probably ignore ninety percent of what you tell them to do and ninety-nine percent of what I tell them to do. But with the threats I believe we're going to face in the future, we're going to need them. Just keep a loose rein on them, earn their trust, and you'll do fine."

Fury said that like it was a piece of cake. Maria didn't even think Romanoff and Barton took her seriously half the time, and the others- her thoughts slammed to a halt as she realized one more aspect of her job that probably wasn't temporary. "And Stark?" she asked. He had been fine this week, but when things settled down... oh, god, Stark would make her life hell just for the fun of it.

"Oh, he's all yours, Agent Hill," Fury said, smirking at her. She glared at him, but Fury just chuckled. "Listen, the secret to handling Stark is to stay on Ms. Potts' good side. That's how Phil managed it and that's how you'll manage it. Besides, you're one of the few people who know what he's capable of."

"I think a lot of people know the kind of headaches Stark's capable of inducing," she said.

"Not what I meant," Fury said, and his tone was the soft and serious one - the one you couldn't ignore. "When that nuke was headed for Manhattan, I called Stark. Not just because he was the only one who could divert it, but because I knew he would - without any hesitation, no matter what the cost. Not many people knew he was capable of that before he proved it. Hell, I'm not sure Stark knew. But you did, Agent Hill. You would have made the same call I did for the same reasons."

Damn it, sometimes she really hated how perceptive Fury was. But knowing that Stark could be counted on when the chips were down did not making dealing with him on a daily basis any easier. "Sir, if I end up shooting Stark-"

"Don't shoot him. Ms. Potts will not be pleased and you do not want that woman mad at you. Though if she likes you, she might be okay with you rendering him unconscious."

This was still too much. "Sir, the other agents, coordinating the ops- there's no way I can-"

"Maria," Fury interrupted. "There is no one else. I need you to do this."

And when he put it that way... "I'll do my best, sir," she said. "Was there anything else?"

"No, Agent Hill. You're dismissed."

* * *

_AN: Just wanted to state for the record that this story diverges from movie-verse canon after the Avengers, and that I have no plans on working in anything from Iron Man 3, the upcoming Captain America and Thor sequels, or the TV show Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thanks._


	5. New Friends and Pizza

Jane glanced over when she heard the doors to the lab open and smiled when she saw who it was. "Betty! Did you know the processing power here is enough to-" Jane cut herself off when she finally registered the troubled expression on Betty's face. "What's wrong?"

Betty sat down. "I need you to tell me that dropping everything and moving here isn't crazy."

Jane frowned slightly. Betty had been on the phone to California all afternoon, arranging things for her move. Obviously someone she had talked to wasn't so enthusiastic about it. That wouldn't do. "No, dropping everything and moving into the tower of a genius billionaire superhero that we've known for all of a week isn't crazy at all," she said, keeping her voice carefully earnest.

Success. Betty was fighting a smile even as she fixed Jane with a look. "That wasn't very convincing."

"Sorry," Jane said, smiling. "So who told you moving to New York was crazy?"

Betty sighed. "Matt. He doesn't understand, and I don't blame him, really. He thought everything was fine. I thought everything was fine."

"Until you saw Bruce on the news and found yourself rushing to New York to see him," Jane said, which was exactly what she did when she saw Thor and thank goodness someone else understood what that particular insanity was like.

Betty returned Jane's sad smile and nodded. "I just- is this the right thing to do? To just throw away a year of trying to build a new life and start all over again?"

"Were you happy in California?"

"No," Betty said. "But I'm not sure New York is the right place for me, either."

"Maybe it's not," Jane said. "No one said this has to be permanent, though. If you decide after a few months that this isn't the place for you, or if I do, or we end up hating New York City, or if Tony gets sick of us or if we get sick of Tony, well, then we go somewhere else. In the meantime, though, we get to live in a tower with an honest-to-god artificial intelligence, play with ridiculously advanced tech, and pick the brain of the man who invented it all. Really, it'd be crazy to pass up an opportunity like this."

Betty smiled. "The company's not bad either," she said. "Thanks, Jane."

"Anytime," she said, returning the smile.

"Right, so, it is dinnertime, and we-"

As soon as Betty mentioned dinner, Jane's stomach growled. Loudly. Betty stopped and just raised an eyebrow. Jane flushed in embarrassment. "I, uh, may have forgotten to eat lunch." Betty smiled in amusement, but thankfully bit back whatever comment was on the tip of her tongue. "So dinner would be good. Should we go collect Tony?" Pepper was in DC for meetings, and Jane and Betty had promised to try and get Tony to actually leave his lab while she was gone.

"Sure," Betty said. Jane quickly closed her programs and then they headed down the hall.

"Think we'll be able to convince him to leave?" Jane asked. Since Pepper had left yesterday, Tony had spent all of his free time in his lab, only leaving to go to his scheduled interviews. He had even slept there, according to JARVIS.

"Plan B is bringing the food to him," Betty said.

"Oh, well, yeah, that wouldn't be so bad," Jane said. Getting food and spending the rest of the evening in a lab sounded pretty good, actually. She caught Betty giving her an amused look. "What?"

"You're as bad as Pepper says he is, aren't you?"

Jane blushed again. "No," she insisted. "I just got sidetracked with all of the new equipment today."

"Right, it was just the new equipment," Betty said dryly.

"Oh, shut up," Jane said. "Just wait until you start working in your lab."

"I do not forget to eat and sleep when I'm working," Betty said, and then they were at Tony's door.

Tony actually did look up when they entered, which meant he probably wasn't in the middle of anything. "Yes?" Tony asked.

"It's dinnertime," Betty said.

"I'm not hungry," Tony said, very deliberately turning away from them. "You two have fun."

Pepper had warned them that between her absence and the interviews (which Tony very obviously hated), that Tony was liable to be in a pretty bad mood. This wasn't so bad, though. Jane figured she and Betty still had a little bit of a grace period left before Tony let himself be as rude as he could be. "Pepper asked us to drag you out of the lab," Jane said.

"She asked you to try," Tony corrected. "Don't worry, she doesn't really expect you to succeed. I'll tell her you made a good effort."

"Oh, come on," Jane said. "It's only dinner."

"Right, a couple hours," Betty said. "We'll order takeout and watch Final Space." Both Jane and Tony stopped then turned to stare at her. "What?"

"Final Space?" Jane repeated. "The movie that has more scientific inaccuracies than any movie in the past 25 years?"

"Seriously, I invite you into my tower and give you lab space, and you want to make me watch that crap?" Tony asked.

Betty just looked at both of them and a slow smile spread across her face. "Are you telling me that neither of you have ever gotten together with friends and mocked the hell out of bad science in movies?"

Jane blinked, then grinned, and even Tony looked intrigued. Betty grinned at him, and he quickly schooled his expression. "I think I'll pass," Tony said.

"You know you want to come and mock the movie with us," Betty said.

"Come on," Jane said. "It'll be fun."

Tony sighed, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two aren't going to leave until I agree to this, are you?"

"Nope," Betty and Jane said in unison.

"Fine," Tony said, pretending to give in grudgingly. "But we're having pizza. JARVIS, save and close everything." He stood up and moved towards the door. "Also, if we're going to actually watch this crappy movie, there needs to be a drinking game."

"Absolutely not," Betty said. "We'd give ourselves alcohol poisoning."

"Not if we only take a drink when they get something right," Jane said.

"We do that we might not be able to drink at all," Tony said. "JARVIS? How many times do they get something right?"

"JARVIS, don't answer that, you'll ruin the fun," Betty said. They entered the elevator and she fixed Tony and Jane with a look. "No drinking games. We will either end up with alcohol poisoning or stone-cold sober."

"Fine, mother, but there will be beer with the pizza," Tony said.

"I wasn't objecting to the alcohol," Betty said. "I was just objecting to the drinking game."

"How fast will the pizza get here?" Jane asked. Tony looked at her questioningly.

"She skipped lunch," Betty said. Jane glared at her for spilling that piece of information. "Oh, please, he probably did the same thing."

"No comment," Tony said. "JARVIS, call in an order to Ray's, ask if they can rush it. Toppings?" he asked. Jane and Betty voiced their preferences and Tony put in their order. They got drinks, plates, and napkins, and before too long, the pizzas arrived and they settled into the media room of Tony's penthouse.

Tony sat in a recliner and shook his head as the opening credits appeared on screen. "I cannot believe I'm watching this sorry excuse for a movie."

"Shut up and mock the movie," Betty said evenly, sitting down on the couch next to Jane. "This'll be fun."

"You realize shutting up and mocking are mutually exclusive, right?" Tony asked.

Jane was distracted from their friendly bickering as she heard someone from the movie mentioning comets and- wait, what did they say? "Guys, quiet, I think they're already mangling stuff."

"We're not even a minute into this," Tony said.

"I told you a drinking game was a bad idea," Betty said.

Jane grabbed the remote to rewind so she could catch exactly what the movie had gotten wrong, feeling a strange mixture of annoyance and glee at the rant she was gearing up for. She wasn't sure if the glee would last the whole movie or not, but either way this night was looking to be interesting.


	6. Moving Day

Betty walked through her empty apartment, double checking that nothing had been forgotten, and when she got back to her door, it struck her. The movers had her entire life - even her car - packed up in their trucks, on their way to New York. This was it. Her life in California was over. She had come here to start over, to leave her father and Bruce and everything behind, and she had believed it had worked. Right up until she saw Bruce on the news.

So now she was starting over again. A knot of tension settled in her stomach which she did her best to ignore. She was doing the right thing. She knew that.

"Dr. Ross? Are you ready to leave?"

Betty turned around and nodded at the driver Pepper had arranged for her. "Yes. I just need to drop my keys at the office," she said.

"I can drive you over there, ma'am," he said. She nodded again and stepped forward, intending to pick up her shoulder bag, but the driver beat her to it. "Allow me."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."

"Allen Banks," he said. "Call me Allen."

Soon enough, they were on their way to the airfield. When she and Tony had flown out from New York, they had landed in Los Angeles and Betty had been driven to her apartment just outside San Francisco, but for the trip back, Tony was flying here from LA and meeting her at a local airport. The jet was already there when they arrived, so Betty was ushered onto the plane, once again not being allowed to handle her own bag. She settled into one of the plush couches near Tony.

"So. All moved out?" Tony asked, looking up from the tablet he was working on when she sat down.

Betty nodded. "Everything's on its way to New York," she said, again trying to ignore that annoying knot of tension.

The tension apparently showed on her face, because Tony raised an eyebrow. "It's not too late to change your mind," he said. "One call to the movers, they can take everything back."

"No," Betty said, shaking her head. "I haven't changed my mind." She was uneasy about starting over, sure, but she knew she didn't want to stay in California. Her relationship with Matt was over. Her research was nothing she couldn't continue elsewhere. She hadn't developed anything other than casual friendships with her colleagues. There was absolutely nothing tying her here.

In New York, there was Jane, who after only a week, was already one of the closest friends Betty had ever had; there was Pepper, who knew exactly what it meant to love a genius who underwent a traumatic experience and came out the other side a superhero; and there was Tony. Who in spite of knowing Bruce only a few days, knew and liked and understood Bruce as well as Betty did.

"Hmn," Tony said, still looking at her. Finally he shrugged. "Well, if you want to talk about it, the phone's over there. Give Jane or Pepper a call."

"I can't talk to you?" Betty asked.

"I'm Tony Stark. I don't do conversations about feelings."

She smiled slightly. "Oh, really? Then who on earth did I talk to for nearly three hours the day I showed up in New York?"

"Special circumstances," Tony returned. "I wanted to complain about Bruce as much as you did that day."

The captain's voice came over the intercom, announcing their departure. Betty looked out the window, and soon enough, they were off the ground and on their way back to New York.

Betty couldn't shake the tension, and finally admitted to herself that it was Matt's words that were bothering her. She had known from their phone conversations that he'd be angry when she finally saw and talked to him in person. He had a right to be angry. However unintentionally, Betty had led him on and made him think they had a future when they didn't. So Betty had been prepared for him to be angry. But the things he had said... that she was living in the past, that she was a coward who was too afraid to let someone else in... that she was pathetic for loving a man who clearly didn't love her back. Matt didn't understand. He couldn't understand. But it was still getting to her.

"Matt thinks I'm pathetic for still being hung up on Bruce," Betty said, shattering the silence in the plane.

Tony blinked at her, then shook his head. "Seriously, the phone is right there, just dial normally-"

"Tony-"

"I have their numbers if you need them-"

"Tony-"

"In fact, I'll just give Pepper a call," he said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Tony!" she snapped, which finally got him to stop and look at her. "If I want to talk to Pepper or Jane I will call them. I actually wanted to talk to you and get your perspective on things."

"Why the hell would you want my perspective on anything involving relationships or feelings?"

"God only knows," Betty said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously, my reputation of being an asshole is well-deserved. I will say the wrong thing and piss you off."

"Oh, you're doing a great job at that without saying anything at all," she said dryly. "Just forget it, Tony."

"It's the truth," Tony said. "I am really terrible at this type of thing. Even when I'm trying to be nice. Ask Pepper about the 12 percent thing sometime."

"You did all right the day I showed up in New York," she pointed out. "But like I said, forget it. Just pretend I never said anything."

"Okay. Good. I can do that," he said. He went back to his tablet. Only he kept sneaking glances at her, and a few minutes later, he sighed and put his tablet aside. "For the record, you don't actually think you're pathetic, do you?"

She looked at him. "I told you that you could forget it, Tony."

"Yeah, I have a feeling Pepper will not be happy with me if I do that, so I guess we're having this conversation."

Betty narrowed her eyes. "Did you just email Pepper and ask her for advice?"

"Of course not," he said.

Which probably only meant that he hadn't used email to contact Pepper. "You are ridiculous."

"I'm rich. We get to be eccentric. And you're avoiding the question."

"Excuse me?" she said, incredulous. He practically jumps out of the plane to avoid talking to her and now he accuses her of avoiding the question?

"You are," he said. Oh my god, he was completely ridiculous and Betty wasn't sure if she should be amused or pissed off. "Well?" he prompted. "Do you think you're pathetic? Please say no."

Betty shook her head, but she did still want Tony's perspective. Pepper and Jane would reassure her, but they didn't know Bruce. Tony did. "I don't think I'm pathetic," she said. She had reasons for running after Bruce. Good reasons. At least, she thought they were good reasons. Matt's words had her doubting that. "It's just- I dropped everything to try and get to my ex-boyfriend who I haven't seen in a year and haven't really been with in over six years. You describe that scenario to just about anyone and they're going to think it's pathetic."

"You're leaving out the part where your ex-boyfriend turns big and green when he gets angry," Tony said. "Come on. You weren't running after some random ex. You were running after the genius idiot who thinks he has to hide from the world."

Which is almost exactly what she'd been telling herself. "I just wanted to make sure he was all right," Betty said. "Make sure no one had gotten to him."

"Right, and considering you're on a very, very short list of people who actually give a damn about Bruce - not the Hulk, but Bruce - I think it's safe to say that running after him wasn't pathetic."

Before she had come to New York, she'd been convinced that she was the only person on that list. As much as she'd tried to move on, she'd never stopped loving Bruce. The way he had left had left things unfinished and unsaid between them. Maybe they really didn't have a future together, but Betty couldn't shake the feeling that there was a chance... if she could just get Bruce to stay in one spot long enough to try. "I really wish you could have delayed Bruce just a few more hours," she said, sighing.

"I could find him and bring him back to New York," Tony said.

"Forcing him to come back won't help," Betty said. It'd just make Bruce feel trapped or even more determined to stay away from her. Which was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

"If you ever change your mind," he offered.

She nodded. "Thanks."

"Please tell me we're done with this conversation now."

"If you insist," she said, smiling. The knot of tension was gone. Matt didn't understand, but that was okay. Betty knew she'd made the right choice, and when she doubted that, she had new friends who would reassure her. "You know, you're not as bad at this as you think you are. I actually do feel better."

"Excellent. I'll need you to tell Pepper that," he said, picking up his tablet again. "If I have to have these kinds of conversations, I should at least get points for them."

Betty shook her head, but couldn't help but grin. She reached into her own bag and pulled out a book. "Don't worry, Tony. I'll tell Pepper all about our talk."

Tony looked up at her, suspicious and slightly alarmed, just as she'd intended. Betty couldn't keep the smile off her face entirely but did ignore him, keeping her attention on her book. After a moment, Tony apparently decided not to press his luck and looked back to his tablet, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.


End file.
